Seahawks snap counts vs. 49ers: Group effort to replace Bruce Irvin

With linebacker Bruce Irvin sidelined due to a knee injury, Seattle's defense had to adjust at two positions Sunday against San Francisco.

BY BRADY HENDERSON

Nov 23, 2015, 1:24 PM Updated: 1:28 pm

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Mike Morgan started and played 42 percent of the Seahawks' defensive snaps with Bruce Irvin out. (AP)

(AP)

With Bruce Irvin sidelined due to a knee injury, Seattle’s defense had to adjust at two positions Sunday against San Francisco.

That turned out to be a group effort. Mike Morgan started but Kevin Pierre-Louis also played some at strong-side linebacker while Frank Clark and Cassius Marsh shared snaps at defensive end in pass-rushing situations.

Coach Pete Carroll indicated that Clark and Marsh would play more in Irvin’s absence. Their respective snap totals – 22 and 15 – didn’t constitute a significant increase from how much they had been playing. However, San Francisco’s offense only ran 53 plays, the second-fewest of any Seahawks opponent this season. That means their totals represented a greater percentage of Seattle’s overall defensive snaps than what they were previously averaging.

Here are the position-by-position snap counts from Seattle’s win over San Francisco along with a few notes:

DEFENSE (53 total)

Defensive line

Michael Bennett: 44 (83%)
Cliff Avril: 41 (77%)
Jordan Hill: 36 (68%)
Brandon Mebane: 26 (49%)
Frank Clark: 22 (42%)
Ahtyba Rubin: 19 (36%)
Cassius Marsh: 15 (28%)
Demarcus Dobbs: 9 (17%)

Linebackers

Bobby Wagner: 53 (100%)
K.J. Wright: 53 (100%)
Mike Morgan: 22 (42%)
Kevin Pierre-Louis: 6 (11%)

Seattle typically subs out its strong-side linebacker in favor of a pass-rusher in nickel situations, which explains why Morgan and Pierre-Louis combined to play about half of the defensive snaps.

Defensive backs

Richard Sherman: 53 (100%)
Earl Thomas: 53 (100%)
Kam Chancellor: 53 (100%)
Cary Williams: 37 (70%)
DeShawn Shead: 31 (58%)
Marcus Burley: 10 (19%)

Williams was benched late in the third quarter as Seattle moved Shead to cornerback and replaced him at nickelback with Burley.

OFFENSE (78 total)

Running backs

Thomas Rawls: 50 (64%)
Fred Jackson: 23 (29%)
Will Tukuafu: 20 (26%)
Derrick Coleman: 3 (4%)

All four running backs saw increased roles with Marshawn Lynch sidelined.

Wide receivers

Jermaine Kearse: 59 (76%)
Tyler Lockett: 54 (69%)
Doug Baldwin: 54 (69%)
Kevin Smith: 26 (33%)

Smith played quite a bit in his NFL debut as Seattle only had four healthy receivers.

Tight ends

Jimmy Graham: 56 (72%)
Luke Willson: 39 (50%)
Cooper Helfet: 6 (8%)

Seattle’s lack of depth at receiver on Sunday was likely a factor in Helfet being active.

Offensive line

Russell Okung: 78 (100%)
Garry Gilliam: 78 (100%)
J.R. Sweezy: 77 (99%)
Justin Britt: 77 (99%)
Patrick Lewis: 63 (81%)
Lemuel Jeanpierre: 15 (19%)
Mark Glowinski: 1 (1%)
Alvin Bailey: 1 (1%)

Jeanpierre played center after Lewis injured his ankle.

Note: Quarterback Russell Wilson played all 78 of Seattle’s offensive snaps.